One of the labels that was approved, and then rejected, by the US Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.

Palcohol

A new alcohol powder is set to be released in the US come fall. Branded "Palcohol," the powder is designed to be added to water by the ounce, resulting in mixed drinks like margaritas and kamikazes, or straight vodka.

News of the brand first started circulating on Monday, when outlets discovered Palcohol's site, following its label approval by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau. The labels were intended for 100-ml packets of powder that were 44-51 percent alcohol by weight (56-65 percent by volume); they instructed would-be imbibers to "just add water." Palcohol is meant to be more portable than alcohol's usual forms, which often involve a lot of glass or aluminum and water.

Palcohol will purportedly come in six versions: two straight spirits (vodka and Puerto Rican rum) and four cocktails (cosmopolitan, mojito, lemon drop, and "powderita"). To the inevitable question of "can you snort it?" Palcohol answers "don't do it! It is not a responsible or smart way to use the product," as if that has ever stopped anyone who snorts things from snorting anything.

Palcohol's predecessors

While Palcohol's possible, eventual existence is throwing everyone for a loop, it appears powdered alcohol has existed, at least in theory, on the fringes of the substance world for a while. The first US patent (3,436,224) for powdered alcohol was filed in 1964 by Harold E. Bode of Cleveland, Ohio, and granted in 1969. It describes a number of water-soluble substances for creating alcoholic beverages.

According to the patent, the process involved dehydrating a "starch-based polysaccharide material until the moisture con ten [sic] is less than 0.75%," cooling that material to a "food flavor vapor-sorbing temperature." The next step is "exposing the said dehydrated material to anhydrous ethanol," and, if desired, to "one or more anhydrous food/beverage flavors from the group comprising carbon dioxide, and aroma volatiles from cereals, fruits or vegetables." In short, dehydrate some carbs, cool them, expose them to anhydrous ethanol and, if you want, add some flavorings, and voila—alcohol in Kool-Aid form.

The resulting products would be dry and reconstitutable "beverage powders." The patent also specifically mentions "beer beverage powder," one with "anhydrous malt syrup solids," and "volatile beer flavorings and aromas."

But apparently, this approach didn't work brilliantly. Gen Foods Corp followed this patent with its own, filed in 1972 and granted in 1974, dissed the product in the previous patent, saying it produced a cloudy and "undesirably sweet" beverage with "relatively low levels of alcohol fixation" that needed "excessive amounts of carbohydrate fixative." The product was also described as too viscous with poor appearance and texture.

Instead, Gen Foods Corp proposed a flowable powder using dextrins as the carbohydrate, which could produce a substance that was up to 60 percent ethanol by weight. When mixed with water, the powder would produce a "low-viscosity, clear, colorless" alcohol. Gen Foods Corp's patent also cites a British patent, GB1138124, which is not available online.

Alcoholic powders never quite made it to market in the US, even though the patents in question should have expired at least 20 years ago, throwing the market open to anyone. In 2008, rumors circulated that a company named Pulver Spirits would release an alcoholic powder, but all that remains of the company are third-party mentions on various forums and blogs; its site is now defunct.

Europe, on the other hand, has approached alcoholic powder slightly more directly. One company, Subyou, appears to have once sold powdered alcohol (circa 2005) online. Now, per the company's site, it sells powdered energy drinks. A group of Dutch students scandalized the media in 2007 with Booz2Go, 20-gram packets of powder that produced a three-percent alcohol beverage when mixed with water. One of the students told Reuters that the powder form of the product would allow them to sell to underage kids (the legal drinking age in the Netherlands was 16 at the time, but is now 18 as of January 2014).

The most recent example of alcohol powder is not instant, but can be added to juice for a fast-tracked brewing cycle that makes a beverage of 14 percent alcohol in 48 hours. The product, called Spike Your Juice, was originally sold in August on firebox.com; originally, it was only sold to the EU, but is now available on Amazon.

Inebriation in powder form, still to come

This brings us to Palcohol, which, upon its flurry of media attention, had its TTB approval revoked. According to the company's site, the problem is not Palcohol's questionable product, but rather "a discrepancy on our fill level, how much powder is in the bag." The TTB itself would not further clarify on the revocation, according to CNN.

Palcohol expects to start shipping its product in the fall, noting that "no samples will be released ahead of time."

The Spike stuff you add to juice to "fast track" alcohol production is just one of the many horrible-tasting "high performance" yeasts flooding the market. You can do the same thing by adding regular ol' baker's yeast to any juice that hasn't had a crapton of metabisulfite (or similar) added to it.

FYI, don't put that stuff in a juice bottle and then seal the lid back on tightly, or you'll likely cause an explosion.

I heard that the kid Mikey from the Life cereal commercials died after swallowing pack of Pop Rocks, snorted some alcohol powder and then chugged a Big Gulp of Diet Coke. They immediately pulled Pop Rocks and the alcohol powder off the shelves.

Little did they know at the time, it was the Mentos he ate afterwards that caused his stomach to explode.

This has not been approved quite yet. This morning, Gawker posts a link to USA Today saying that the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau says there was an error in the giving Palcohol approval. Maybe it is just a labeling issue or maybe more.

This has not been approved quite yet. This morning, Gawker posts a link to USA Today saying that the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau says there was an error in the giving Palcohol approval. Maybe it is just a labeling issue or maybe more.

The buy dehydrated water site is also a real product, but it is a joke item.

As for the gifts my mother purchased to send to US, those were real souvenirs sold in France in the early 60's. I am fairly sure the Seine River water is still available. It would be one of those local interest items like the Florida snowman or mosquito trap that are created to allow tourists to enrich the local economy. Mom probably did not buy Bernard Foods brand water as their label says this product was "Originated 1964".

Unflavored ethanol is widely available in liquor outlets ... it is marketed under the beverage name "vodka". Strictly speaking vodka is ethanol distilled from potato mash, but it is often misapplied to ethanol from other sources cut with unflavored water.

One of the "flavors" mentioned is vodka ... essentially, no flavor included.

Missed it

Also, vodka has the same portability problems that every other type of alcohol has.

The buy dehydrated water site is also a real product, but it is a joke item.

As for the gifts my mother purchased to send to US, those were real souvenirs sold in France in the early 60's. I am fairly sure the Seine River water is still available. It would be one of those local interest items like the Florida snowman or mosquito trap that are created to allow tourists to enrich the local economy. Mom probably did not buy Bernard Foods brand water as their label says this product was "Originated 1964".

Interesting product. My wife mentioned it to me, and her concern about people using it illictly. Personally, I don't see the appeal. I'm assuming it's not going to taste well at all.

Anything mixed with enough sugar and artificial flavoing tastes just fine. Low-quality Soju (vodka-ish neutral alcohol produced from starches like rice, sweet potatoes, etc) is mixed with plain old American Kool-Aid powders and sold routinely in Korea. On its own... pretty gnarly stuff. Mixed like that, it tastes like any other strongly spiked Kool-Aid.

This has not been approved quite yet. This morning, Gawker posts a link to USA Today saying that the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau says there was an error in the giving Palcohol approval. Maybe it is just a labeling issue or maybe more.

Everybody keeps talking about this being a big weight saver for backpacking. Don't you still have to carry the water to mix it in? The only other choices are using part of your drinking water for booze, make it with pond water, or eat the stuff dry - none of which seem like a stellar idea.

So does anyone with enough medical and/or chemical knowledge care to speculate on what would happen should someone, irresponsibly and incorrectly, decide to snort it?

I'm genuinely curious. I can imagine it wouldn't be pretty, but I want to know about the specifics of how it wouldn't be pretty. I'm also not "asking for a friend" as at my age, the effect that two beers has on my morning the following day completely eradicates any desire to get wasted.

So does anyone with enough medical and/or chemical knowledge care to speculate on what would happen should someone, irresponsibly and incorrectly, decide to snort it?

I'm genuinely curious. I can imagine it wouldn't be pretty, but I want to know about the specifics of how it wouldn't be pretty. I'm also not "asking for a friend" as at my age, the effect that two beers has on my morning the following day completely eradicates any desire to get wasted.

I think you meant to say "when someone", because we all know it's gonna happen. In fact, we all know it will be the next big thing at high school parties and college initiations.

So does anyone with enough medical and/or chemical knowledge care to speculate on what would happen should someone, irresponsibly and incorrectly, decide to snort it?

I'm genuinely curious. I can imagine it wouldn't be pretty, but I want to know about the specifics of how it wouldn't be pretty. I'm also not "asking for a friend" as at my age, the effect that two beers has on my morning the following day completely eradicates any desire to get wasted.

It would probably hurt like hell, but I'm skeptical anything particularly bad would happen. Alcohol absorbs pretty efficiently through the gastric tract. Nasal absorption doesn't seem like it would be significantly worse. Besides, you really need quite a lot of alcohol for it to be a problem. Most people need at least a drink or two before they're feeling any more than a slight buzz. Try snorting 3 or 4 packets of this stuff and you might start having problems.

A bigger concern than snorting would be if someone put this stuff into some kind of form (like pills) that made it easy to swallow a lot of it quickly. That's when you could get into real trouble.

Assuming it doesn't taste like powdered ass, this could be handy for backpacking trips.

I was thinking the exact same thing. A little Puerto Rican rum pouch and a water bottle and instant happy times around the camp stove after a long day on the trail. Or, I hate to say it, some straight vodka pouch + energy drink powder + water bottle. That could get nasty fast though.

I'll admit to liking trail sunshine enough that I usually haul my aluminum flask filled with either rum or whiskey with me. It doesn't weigh much, but its still maybe 12 ounces filled to maybe a 3-4 ounce packet for the same thing (taste depending). Heck, that makes 2-4 times the fun for the same weight!

So does anyone with enough medical and/or chemical knowledge care to speculate on what would happen should someone, irresponsibly and incorrectly, decide to snort it?

I'm genuinely curious. I can imagine it wouldn't be pretty, but I want to know about the specifics of how it wouldn't be pretty. I'm also not "asking for a friend" as at my age, the effect that two beers has on my morning the following day completely eradicates any desire to get wasted.

It would probably hurt like hell, but I'm skeptical anything particularly bad would happen. Alcohol absorbs pretty efficiently through the gastric tract. Nasal absorption doesn't seem like it would be significantly worse. Besides, you really need quite a lot of alcohol for it to be a problem. Most people need at least a drink or two before they're feeling any more than a slight buzz. Try snorting 3 or 4 packets of this stuff and you might start having problems.

A bigger concern than snorting would be if someone put this stuff into some kind of form (like pills) that made it easy to swallow a lot of it quickly. That's when you could get into real trouble.

I'd imagine it would act as a dessicant with your aveoli and mixing in things like sugars in there probably isn't health either. I'd imagine it would be a bit like snorting an ounce or two of pure ethanol and a dozen pixie sticks.

Could you pass a breathalyzer if you simply ingested the powder and then drank water to mix it in your stomach?

no the alcohol permeates your body. This is why you can determine drunkenness from a breath sample. At the same time they are talking about mouth swabs for cannabis users, however because cannabis doesn't permeate your body in the same manner a mouth swab is useless.

Several people have mentioned using this for backpacking, the first write-up I read on this last night (CNET?) mentioned that as his inspiration for powdered alcohol.

Everybody does understand, don't they, that the weight of the alcohol powder will be at least as much as the weight of the equivalent amount of anhydrous ethanol? It's that whole "conservation of mass" thing.

Everclear is bottled at 190 proof (95% alcohol) so you are really only saving 5% on the weight in comparison. The main advantage of the powdered form is in convenience, I suppose. Not needing a liquid container to carry it.